What Happened in St. Louis?

I've been pretty quiet about all things Cardinals on this blog so far this year.  In part because I've been spending so much time on BLB, but also because it's been a crazy summer, and I just haven't had the time that I've had in the past.

However, as we are wrapping up the last 20 or so games of the year, it's becoming abundantly clear to me that the Cardinals, while not officially out of the playoffs, are pretty much done for the year.  Since August 11th, when they swept the Reds to move into first place, the Cardinals have gone 10-20.  What's worse is that during this stretch, they only played two teams that are in playoff contention (Braves and Giants), and have gone 4-3 in those games.  In other words, the Cardinals have managed to go 6-17 against sub-.500 teams.  It got me thinking that if by some miracle the Cardinals were to make the playoffs, believe it or not, they would actually do well against the top competition in the league.  I know it sounds crazy, but check this out.

Against teams above .500
The Cardinals are 26-20.  They still have a series left against both the Rockies and Padres, and those are the only two winning teams that they have losing records against, so they could turn that around.

Against teams hovering around .500
The Cardinals are 10-7.  They still have a make-up game against the Marlins, against whom they are 2-2 so far this season.

Against teams below .500
The Cardinals are 38-42.  Let that sink in for a minute.  Against lesser competition, the Cardinals actually play worse, especially when it comes to their divisional opponents.  The Cardinals have more losses against the Astros and Brewers than any other 3 teams on their schedule.  In fact, the only below .500 teams that the Cardinals have a winning record against: Pirates, 6-3; Diamondbacks, 5-4; and Angels/Mariners, 2-1 each.  Do some quick math there, and they are only 6 games above .500 themselves in those match-ups.

So, where is the silver lining in all of this?  Well, of the games that the Cardinals have left, they only have 4 against sub-.500 clubs that play outside of Pittsburgh.  Those four are with the Cubs.  They have 6 with the Pirates, one with the Marlins and four against both the Padres and Rockies.

But, here's the thing, if you don't beat the teams that you're "supposed" to beat, you aren't going to make it to the next level.  The Cardinals have clearly failed to do that this year.

Baseball-Reference.com tracks "blow-out" win-loss record.  This is a team's record in games decided by 5+ runs.  Believe it or not, the Cardinals are 28-16 in these types of games.  Of their 69 losses (as of September 14th), they were only really out of 16 of them.

It's been a frustrating month as a Cardinal fan.  Of course, I'm going to stick with them until they are officially eliminated, but I gotta tell ya... that fantasy football team is looking to take over my attention right about now.

Reaction to McMess

If you haven't heard by now, Mark McGwire former slugger for the Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals admitted on Monday to using steroids during his playing career. I tried to catch the interview with Bob Costas on MLB.com as it was happening, but, as usual, life got in the way, and I didn't get to catch all of it. However, it is still available on their website here.

In listening to all the sports chatter that I could throughout Tuesday and reading through some of the reactions that are out there, a lot of thoughts have popped into my mind. I tried very hard not to write anything about this on Monday night, though I certainly wanted to. I opened up my blog three or four times before I finally started working out my thoughts, and even now I'm still a little cluttered in my mind.

The Statement

You can read the entire statement for yourself here, so this is just a few of the highlights. The major reason Mac used these substances is for health purposes. During the mid-90s, 7 stints on the DL caused him to miss 228 games, Mac used steroids to help him recover from injuries and to help him feel normal once again. He expressed gratitude for the drug testing program in today's game, saying that he was glad they have cracked down on illegal substances.

The Interview

The interview with Costas was very good. I feel like Mac represented himself well. He showed true remorse for these actions. He was showing a lot of emotion, even coming close to breaking down more than once. The interview covered his use of illegal substances, his appearance before Congress, calling the Maris family, talking with LaRussa and his father about his use, and the Hall of Fame.

The Fallout

Let's be honest here. Nobody is really surprised by this admission. McGwire has long been suspected of steroid use, and now it has simply been confirmed. In watching the interview, reading the statement and listening to/reading commentators, the response had been wide and varied. Here are some of my initial thoughts to what I have heard/read today:

1. It is understandable why Mac used. I'm not condoning steroid use in any sense. It is wrong, simply put. Mike Golic made a great point on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio. The steroids help with a quicker recovery. For a guy who missed so many games and felt like he was constantly letting down his teammates, it is understandable why he would have taken steroids.
2. Arrogance and confidence frequently get confused, and often it is due to the perspective of the person making the distinction. Mac was very adamant that he took low dosages and most of his home runs can be attributed to his bat speed, hand-eye coordination and natural ability. Many have called him arrogant and have said that he was just lying to himself. But isn't he just confident in his ability to hit the ball? Wouldn't you expect a professional slugger to be confident in his ability to hit the ball a long way? Could the steroids have helped him hit the ball a little further? Yeah, sure, they could have. But how many of Mac's home runs just barely cleared the fence? So, he hit the ball 450 feet instead of 415. Either way, it's still a home run.
3. I'm tired of sports writers making themselves out to be the moral gatekeepers of baseball. There are a lot of reactions from BBWAA ballot writers (here and here and here) on whether or not they would vote for McGwire. Many are saying that they did not because it was uncertain, and now they will not because of his admission (in spite of the fact that several writers were calling for him to come forth with the truth, and then they would make their judgments on him). What this does is set a major precedence for future players. If any player has been accused, or admitted, PED use, then he should not be elected into the Hall of Fame. Who would this list include? Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez. None of these players should be allowed into the Hall of Fame if McGwire is not.
4. Timing. One of the major questions that Greeny asked this morning was, "Why now?" McGwire hasn't been legally culpable for these acts since 2006. The statute of limitations is up, and he has not been in danger of criminal prosecution for several years. Why didn't he come out with this several years ago. I think the real answer to this is that it wasn't like he was waiting for the legal ramifications to be up before coming forward. Watching the interview, it is clear that he kept this to himself. He didn't even tell his parents, children or Tony LaRussa (who he refers to as a "second dad") until the day of/before releasing the statement. It was because of the shame that he never came forward before now. But with Spring Training a month away and his new job as the hitting coach for the Cardinals, it is important for him to get this stuff out of the way so it doesn't cause a distraction for the team. He was never in this position before.
5. Dumbest Statement on the Issue: "Without McGwire paving the way with home run seasons of 52, 58, 70, 65 from 1996 to 1999 (after consecutive nine-homer seasons in 1993 and '94), perhaps Henry Aaron is still the home run champion" - Howard Bryant. Why is this statement so stupid? It is a misrepresentation. Bryant makes it sound like he was a puny guy who could only manage 9 home runs in each of those seasons, and then blew up to hit 50+. Why did McGwire only hit 9 HR's those seasons? Because in '93 he played in 27 games, and in '94 he played 47 games. I seriously doubt that he would have hit more HR's than games played in those seasons. This is a guy who hit 49 HR's in his first season in the league. There is no doubt that he had power. Nobody was surprised that he was a power hitter.
6. Cheating in Baseball: There is cheating in baseball. Period. Sometimes, players get caught, sometimes they don't. Why are people so focused on PED use, and not other forms of cheating? Many player have used banned amphetamines and have even admitted it (such as Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt). There's no uproar about getting Schmidt out of the Hall. A spitball is an illegal pitch in baseball, but Gaylord Perry is in the Hall, in spite of his admission to using the pitch throughout his career. Stealing signs has been a part of the game as long as there have been signs, and yet, base stealers do it all the time. It's not illegal, but it certainly is frowned upon in the game. Do you want to kick out Lou Brock or Rickey Henderson for potentially stealing signs (I'm not saying that they have, I'm just making the point)? Is your argument that they are illegal and therefore, the players shouldn't be allowed in the Hall? Okay, well, I guess we should take away the eligibility of players who have been busted with DUI's, or marijuana and cocaine use.

Okay, I know that this has been a lot. There's a lot going on here. So, have I changed my position on McGwire? Do I think his admission of guilt should keep him out of the Hall? No, I haven't changed my opinion, and no, I don't think he should be kept out of the Hall. It's not like McGwire was the only person in baseball history to have used banned substances. It's not like he was the only person during the '90s to have used. The bottom line is, as unfortunate as the term is, the '90s will always be known as the Steroid Era. Several players, good and bad, used illegal substances during this time, and it wasn't until baseball really cracked down on it that the game became much cleaner. In baseball, don't we elect the best players of their era to be in the Hall of Fame? Don't we try to get the top players of their day a plague in Cooperstown? McGwire was no doubt one of the most feared and talented players of his time. He was head and shoulders above many players that played around the same time. Yes, in spite of his transgressions, McGwire belongs in the Hall of Fame.

NL MVP & Cy Young Thoughts

The MLB awards season finished this past Tuesday with the unsurprising NL MVP being St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols. Here are some random stats to marvel in the greatness of El Hombre:

• 9th season in the league and has yet to have less than .300 BA, 30 HR's & 100 RBI's. His career lows in those categories would be career highs for some people. (Just for the record, combining his worst stats in those categories would be a .314/32/103 season... that's the worst he has done!)
• 10th 3 time winner of the MVP
• 10th back-to-back MVP winner
• 15th unanimous MVP in baseball history (first since Bonds in 2002)
• 3rd MVP award in the last 5 years
• 2nd in MVP voting 3 times, 3rd once, and 4th once (You read that right, 9 seasons in the league, and Top 4 in the MVP voting 8 times.)
• 4th most MVP votes of all time behind only Barry Bonds, Stan Musial and Ted Williams
• Oh, and one more number... he's only 29 years old.

Shifting gears from the season's biggest no-brainer to the one award that made me wonder if people had any brains (NL Cy Young). Now, there's no doubt that I am biased here, being a Cardinal fan; however, how in the world does Lincecum win the Cy Young over either Carpenter or Wainwright, let alone both?

Here's your basic numbers:

Wainwright - 19-8, 2.63 ERA, 212 K's, 233 IP in 34 G

Lincecum - 15-7, 2.48 ERA, 261 K's, 225.1 IP in 32 G

Carpenter - 17-4, 2.24 ERA, 144 K's, 192.2 IP in 28 G

Here's what an average game would look like, based on those numbers:

Wainwright - 6.85IP, 2.04 ER, 6.24 K's

Lincecum - 7.04IP, 1.93 ER, 8.15 K's

Carpenter - 6.88IP, 1.74 ER, 5.14 K's

All three of them are fairly even with the biggest difference being in the K's category. Are strikeouts that much more important than wins or ERA? Carpenter and Wainwright both pitch in a system where the ground ball is emphasized, so naturally, they will strike out fewer batters. What we got here was a race between the leaders in ERA (Carpenter), Wins (Wainwright) and Strikeouts (Lincecum). Apparently, strikeouts are more important than wins or ERA.

Some stats on Wainwright's season:

• He allowed more than 3 earned runs 7 times in 34 starts; the Cardinals won five of those starts.
• He allowed 2 earned runs or less in 26 of 34 starts; the Cardinals lost eight of those starts
• He allowed 3 earned runs in one start; the Cardinals lost
• He had 7 no-decisions this season; in only one did he allow more than 2 earned runs.
• In a 12 start stretch during July and August, he pitched 88 innings and allowed 12 earned runs. That's an ERA of 1.23 for 1/3rd of the season.
• He also had 3 games of 10+ strikeouts.

How 'bout Carpenter:

• Carp had 7 no-decisions this seasons, and in them, he pitched 46 innings and allowed 8 earned runs; that's a 1.56 ERA in games where he didn't get a decision.
• In his 4 (yes, 4) loses, he pitched 25 innings and allowed 19 earned runs (that's an ERA of 6.84) . That means, in the other 24 games (and 167.2 innings) that he pitched, he only allowed 29 earned runs. Let that sink in for a minute... it's a 1.55 ERA for 24 games.
• He also had 3 games of 10+ strikeouts.

And Lincecum:

• He had 5 starts out of 32 where he allowed more than 3 earned runs, and the Giants won one of those games.
• In his 10 no-decisions, he pitched 65 innings and allowed 24 earned runs. That's an ERA of 3.32.
• The Giants were 14-7 when he allowed 2 runs or less; he had a no-decision in 6 of those games.
• In his 7 loses, he allowed 23 earned runs (for an ERA of 4.77), in the other 25 games (and 182 innings), he allowed 39 earned runs for an ERA of 1.92.
• He also had 8 games of 10+ strikeouts.

Just for fun, what would their records have been if they had 3 runs of support in every game:

(<3 allowed =" W," allowed =" ND,">3 ER allowed = L)

Wainwright: 26-7, with 1 no-decision

Carpenter: 20-3, with 5 no decisions

Lincecum: 21-4, with 7 no decisions

It was certainly a tight race, and all three candidates were deserving in some respect. I just really feel like Lincecum got it because of his strikeout numbers, which is bogus. Carpenter and Wainwright pitch in a "to contact" philosophy that does a fantastic job of getting people to hit into double plays, not overwhelm them with a strikeout.

("Where's the proof?" you ask. Carpenter induced 23 DPs, Wainwright 18, Pineiro led the league with 29, and even Wellemeyer induced 20; that's 4 Cardinals in the top 20 in the league. Lincecum induced 9 DPs, and the top Giants pitcher was Zito with 19, then a reliever. To get the top 4 Giants pitchers, you have to get all the way down to #70 in the league.)

I still think that a Cardinal should have brought home the hardware... but I'm biased.

Happy Hollidays?

Cardinal Nation is buzzing this afternoon with the news that the Cards acquired OF Matt Holliday from the Oakland A's for top prospect Brett Wallace, and minor leaguers Clayton Mortensen and Shane Petersen. This has been a move that has been met with mixed reactions on some of the Cardinal blogs that I have been reading lately.

Wallace is, by all accounts, a great hitter, but a liability on defense. He does play 3B, which is a position the Cards have struggled with all season; however, he has yet to play at the major league level. Many people don't like the move because they think that Wallace is the next great slugging 3rd baseman in baseball. At first, I wasn't too crazy about it, but the more I think about it, the more excited I get. Let's face it, Wallace is an unproven player on the major league level. Holliday is a very good player on the major league level, and it's possible that he could love playing in St. Louis and want to stay there. Only time will tell.

Compare these line-ups:

2b - Schumaker

cf - Rasmus

1b - Pujols

rf - Ludwick

lf - Ankiel/Duncan

c - Molina

3b - Thurston

Pitcher's slot

ss - Ryan

This has been a fairly typical lineup for the Cards this season. After a couple of moves, the lineup will probably look more like this:

2b - Schumaker

cf - Rasmus

1b - Pujols

lf - Holliday

rf - Ludwick

3b - DeRosa

c - Molina

ss - Ryan/Lugo

Pitcher's slot

Notice: most of the season, LaRussa has batted the pitcher eighth; however, he doesn't like to have the pitcher hitting right after Molina, and given that Molina's offensive production will most likely decline (because of the wear-and-tear of being a catcher), in conjunction with DeRosa on the field, I'm guessing that we're going to see him lower in the order than 6th on a consistent basis. Then again, I'm not LaRussa, and we could very well see Molina, DeRosa, Pitcher's slot and Ryan at the bottom of the order; that's for Tony to decide, not me.

Anyhoo, which of those lineups look scarier to other teams in the NL Central right now? Yeah, I'm saying the second one. Not to mention this puts Thurston and Ankiel on the bench, alongside Ryan/Lugo (whoever's not playing that night), Stavinoha/Barden (whoever doesn't get sent back down, I'm guessing Barden goes back to Memphis) and LaRue.

The more I think about it, the more I like this lineup:

1. Schumaker is coming around as the everyday 2b (he's only committed 6 errors in 606 innings so far, not to mention he's hitting .307 as of right now)
2. Rasmus is looking like the Rookie of the Year for the NL
3. Pujols is having a well above average season (which considering his previous average seasons have placed him in the top 10 of all time, that's saying a lot), and looks well on his way to becoming a 3-time MVP. Oh, and also 2nd in batting (.020 behind Hanley Ramirez), 1st in HR (9 ahead of Adrian Gonzalez), and 1st in RBI (4 ahead of Prince Fielder and 20 ahead of 3rd place) - Triple Crown talk is still going on.
4. Holliday has had a down year so far, but is heating up. And when you consider that .286 and 54 RBI's is a "down season" so far for Holliday, that's a good sign. (He's just a week removed from a 4-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI game; and in his last 10 games has put up a .390/3HR/11RBI line to go along with 12 runs and 3 strikeouts.)
5. Ludwick has also been heating up after having some problems following an early DL stint. Even with those struggles, he's hitting .273 with 16 HR and 61 RBI's.
6. DeRosa is adjusting back to the NL - 5 hits and 3 HR in his last 6 games since coming off the DL (another .270 hitter)
7. Molina is having an All Star season with a .288 average and ridiculous defense behind the plate.
8. Brendan Ryan has played very good defense at SS to go along with a respectable .275 average.
9. Ankiel is not having a good season, but is still a significant power threat lurking on the bench.
10. Thurston can't hit a lick, but has seen significant playing time this season, so that's another good one to have on the bench.
11. Lugo can hit lefties, which is something this team has struggled with so far.

Now, if Wellemeyer can either remember how to pitch, or if they can get an effective 5th starter, the rotation has few, if any weak links. On just about any other team, we're looking at Carpenter and Wainwright as #1 starters, Lohse as a #2 and the way Pineiro has been going, he could be a legitimate #2 as well (3.09 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 3 HR allowed and 12 BB in 122 innings this season).

The bullpen has been much better than last season and should be fairly well rested for the last 60+ games. Franklin (Wednesday's game notwithstanding) has been lights out - 5 earned runs allowed all season, and only two blown saves in his All Star season.

Overall, I feel good about this team. I'm still a little leary with Wellemeyer on the mound, but four nights out of five, I feel like they have a legitimate chance to win. And even with Wellemeyer on the mound, they now seem to have the offensive parts to overcome even his inefficiencies.

Cardinal Series Review 6/1-6/8

The Cards had a rough homestand this time around. The pitching had been fantastic, allowing only 17 runs in 9 games, but things started to get shaky when the Reds came to town and the wheels fell off once the Rockies came in.

Cincinnati, 6/1-6/4

The first red flag on the Cardinal offense started going up during the month of May. The Cards only scored 6+ runs five times the entire month (compare that to 10 in April). As of June 8th, they had not scored 6+ in any game. They traded wins with the Reds to open the homestand, with wins of 5-2 and 3-1 in Games 2 and 4, and losses of 3-5 and 3-9 in Games 1 and 3.

Cardinals record: 2-2 (8-5-2 series)

Colorado, 6/5-6/8

And then the wheels fell off. The bullpen completely fell apart. Wainwright left Game 1 with the Cardinals down 1-3, but by the end of the 7th, it was 11-1. The Rockies scored 9 runs in the 7th inning, and it was all over from there. Game 1 was followed by three more absolutely flat performances by the Cardinals, all losses: 1-10, 2-7, and 2-5. The Rockies aren't a bad team, but there is no reason why Jorge De La Rosa, Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Marquis should look like Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine and Avery. I have a feeling that this is going to be a series that we look back to later in the season.

Cardinals record: 0-4 (8-6-2 series)

The Cardinals are hitting the road for the next six games, visiting both Florida and Cleveland. We'll catch back up on the other side.

Cardinal Series Reviews, 5/22-5/31

I've got three series to catch up on since the last update.

Kansas City, 5/22-5/24

The Cardinals continued an incredible streak of pitching with this series.  They came in having allowed only 2 runs in 3 games to the Cubs, which, following a 3 game sweep in Milwaukee, they really needed.  They continued their torrid pitching with consecutive 5-0 shut-outs in the first game of the series.  In the third game of the series, they still had solid pitching, but couldn't score, as the Royals outlasted the Redbirds 2-3.  Overall, it's another series win, and we'll take that any day of the week.

Cardinals record: 2-1 (7-4-1 series)

@Milwaukee, 5/25-5/27

After getting swept by the Brewers last time they met in St. Louis, the Cardinals dropped three games out of first place.  However, after going 5-1 against the Cubs and Royals, the Cards started this series tied again with the Brewers.  Game 1 was another difficult loss - 0-1 in extras.  Carpenter pitched a phenomenal game, taking a perfecto into the 7th inning, but, unfortunately was saddled with a no-decision.  However, the offense finally decided to wake up again, outscoring the Brewers 8-1 in the second game and winning a close one, 3-2, to take the series.

Cardinals record: 2-1 (8-4-1 series)

@San Francisco

The way the pitching staff has been going, you had to feel good about this series, knowing that the Giants are in worse shape offensively than the Cardinals have been.  However, that was not the case.  All three were pretty good games, and the Cardinals were never really out of them, but they walked away having dropped the first and final game of the series, 2-4 and 3-5.  They did manage to sandwich a win on Saturday with a big day from El Hombre with 2 dingers, resulting in a 6-2 victory.

Cardinals record: 1-2 (8-5-1 series)

Stay tuned for the next couple of series.  The Cards have an eight game homestand, with the Reds and Rockies each coming in for four games.

Cardinal Week in Review, 5/15-5/21

The past week has been a difficult one for Cardinal nation....

Milwaukee, 5/15-5/18

The first game of the series got rained out with the Cardinals leading 2-0, and they never led again.  Technically, they didn't lead at all in this series.  This was the epitome of poor baseball.  Now, I know that the Cards have been hurting with Ankiel and Ludwick out of the lineup, but they have to do better than this.  These were three of their five absolute worst losses that I have seen this season (the other two being Opening Day against the Pirates and a 2-1 loss against the Braves in which three batters were walked and 2 ended up scoring).  0-1 is a difficult loss to take, especially when your starter had been struggling in previous games and only gave up two hits in this one.  The 2-8 final in the second game is in large part due to 7 BB's and 2 HBP's by the starter, and three earned runs given up by a pitcher who only threw 16 pitches and didn't get an out.  In the 4-8 loss, Rasmus got his washed out 2 run HR back, but the Cards were already down 7-0 in the 7th inning when he hit it.

Cardinals record: 0-3, (6-4-1 series)

Chicago, 5/19-5/21

The Cubbies followed the Brewers into town on Tuesday, hoping to continue the Cardinals' losing streak.  What they found was a Cardinal team that still couldn't score, but wouldn't allow anyone else to score either.  Key numbers: 8-2.  No that isn't the final score in Thursday night's serie-sweep-completing victory.  It is the final tally of the entire series.  The Cards swept the Cubs by combining for and 8-2 score: 3-0, 2-1, and 3-1.  How 'bout another pair of numbers: 17-14.  The Cards managed to outhit the Cubs by 3.  Not a lot of offense, but the pitching stepped up in a big way in this series.

Cardinals record: 3-0 (7-4-1 series)

The next week's worth of baseball includes the I-70 showdown as the upstart Royals come to town; followed by a trip to Milwaukee to get those three ugly losses from this week out of their minds.  Next update will probably be on for Thursday the 28th, since that is the next Cardinals' off day.  With friends in town, though, it may get pushed back.

Tuesday Tunes!!!!

And we're back!!!  It's been a couple of weeks since I've put up a Tuesday Tunes.  Quite frankly, it's been a little busy lately, and this hasn't been the first thing on my mine.  But we're back.  We're back in the saddle again.  We're back.... oh wait, that's not this week's song.

This week continues my obvious baseball fascination with a couple of tunes (that's right, it's a Tuesday Tunes Two-fer.... today).  I came across a couple of great videos on the ever expanding YouTube.  They are parodies of relatively familiar songs.  No lyrics today, just some good times.

For all the Cardinal fans out there....

And, again, for all the Cardinal fans out there...

Swish's Series Reviews - Catch Up Time

Ironic how I stopped doing the series reviews for just a little while and suddenly, the Cardinals lost their first series, and then drop a couple more.  Vacation was good, and coming back has been really busy, so this is the first real chance I've had to get caught up on things.

Philadelphia, 5/4-5/5

This series did not go so well for the Cards.  In fact, they lost both games of this two game series.  It was their first series defeat of the season, losing 1-6 and 7-10.  It was an omen of the things to come over the next several days.  Cardinals record: 0-2 (5-1-1 series).

Pittsburgh, 5/6-5/7

In a total turn-around from the Philly series, the Cardinals came out playing solid and took both games of this short set, with 4-2 and 5-2 victories.  Cardinals record: 2-0 (6-1-1)

@ Cincinnati, 5/8-5/10

First trip to Great American Ballpark of the season, and not such a good result.  They acted like they wanted to get into the first two games of the series, but never really got it going.  Then, they tried to give away the final game.  Going into the ninth, Franklin gave up his first two runs of the season.  Both on solo shots - but one to a pinch-hitting pitcher.  They came back and won it in the 10th.  Two losses: 4-6 and 3-8; victory: 8-7.  Cardinals record: 1-2 (6-2-1)

@ Pittsburgh, 5/12-5/14

There are some things that just shouldn't happen in baseball.  One of those things is the Cardinals losing a series to the Pirates.  It'd be one thing if they were close losses, but really, they weren't.  The one exception would be Game 2 of this series, in which the Cardinals did have the tying run at the plate in the 9th inning; however, they trailed by 4 going into the 9th.  The first two games: 1-7 and 2-5; final game: 5-1.  Cardinals record 1-2 (6-3-1)

This has all led from the Cardinals having a relatively firm grasp on first place in the division to them suddenly in a logjam atop the Central.  Going into Friday's postponed game against the Brewers, the Cardinals were tied with the Brew Crew at 21-14, and the Cubs and Reds were sitting 1/2 game back at 20-14.  Of the now 9 teams in baseball with 20+ wins, 4 are in the NL Central.  It's going to be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Swish's Series Review, Nationals 4/30-5/3

Cardinals record: 2-1 (5-0-1 series); 17-8 overall

Cardinals 9, Nationals 4

This was a tight game, believe it or not, until the 9th inning.  Tied at 4, the Cardinals "exploded" for 5 runs in the top of the ninth.  By "exploded" I mean - 3 hits (one, with bases loaded, was an infield single!), 2 walks, 1 HBP, and a balk.  Yup, that's what helped the Cardinals finish the month of April with the best record in baseball.  Lost in it all was an outstanding performance by Mitchell Boggs, who has been filling in for the injured Carpenter.  He struck out a career best 9 in 6 innings of work.

Player of the game goes to Ankiel on this one for a 2-3 night, including a pair of RBI's one of which broke a tie game in the 9th.  Pujols also deserves some mention for his 8th HR of the season in the 1st inning, which put him at 28 RBI's on the season

Cardinals 6, Nationals 2

Cards brought out the whoopin' stick in this one.  All six runs were scored via the long ball tonight.  Pujols, Duncan, Ludwick and Thurston (1st career) all homered for the Cardinals.  Pujols was on base for Duncan's and Ludwick's HRs.  Wellemeyer pitched a solid game, going 7 inning and only allowing 2 runs on a HR in the 7th.

Pujols is tonight's player of the game.  He was merely a triple short of the cycle, scored 3 runs, and knocked in another.  It's surprising he didn't get the cycle.  It seems like he has a triple every other night (not really, he has yet to record one this season).

Nationals 6, Cardinals 1

As good as the Cards played yesterday, they stunk it up today.  Pujols was getting a much deserved day off.  His replacement at first, Chris Duncan, gave Cardinal Nation another reason to love their MVP first basemen.  Duncan dropped a relatively easy foul pop-up, and the Nationals took advantage with a two-out single and a big, 3-run blast by Adam Dunn.  Pineiro pitched well, going seven strong innings and only allowing 1 earned run (the 3-run dinger by Dunn counted as 3 unearned runs), but he was outmatched by the Nationals pitcher, Martis, who pitched a complete game and only allowed 5 hits.  

It's important to note that this is the first loss by a Cardinal start whose last name doesn't rhyme with Bellemeyer.  Cardinal starters are 14-3 on the season.  In fact, Wellemeyer is the only pitcher with multiple losses on the entire team.  

An additional side note, why do I say that this was a much-deserved day off for our favorite MVP?  Currently, Pujols leads the NL in HR (tied with Adrian Gonzalez), RBI, runs, and slugging percentage, and ranks 3rd in batting average (.356), 3rd in hits, and 9th in stolen bases (don't expect that to be maintained!).  Smells like another MVP season to me!

The good thing about only scoring 1 run is that it was pretty easy to discern who the offensive player of the game was.  Rookie Colby Rasmus hit his first major league HR in the 7th inning for his second hit of the day.

Game 4 of the series was postponed due to the rain.  A makeup date has not been announced.

As much fun as a series review has been, I think with the conclusion of this series, I'll be switching to a weekly format instead.  It's an evolving process.

Swish's Series Review, Braves 5/27-5/29

Cardinals' record: 2-1 (5-0-1 series); 15-7 overall

Cardinals 3, Braves 2

Who is this guy?  Pineiro moves to 4-0 on the season after winning tonight's game.  It was a close game, but the Cards prevailed again.  Franklin shut down the Braves in the 9th for his 6th save in as many chances.  It seems he has solidified his position as the closer on this team.  The offense was rather quiet, but the defense played really well.  Ironically, they did so on a day where the primary concern was the amount of errors that have been made so far this season.  Pineiro coaxed 13 ground ball outs and only 5 flyouts; that's not bad, as long as the defense is playing well behind you.

Player of the game goes to Ankiel for this one.  It's nice to see him get a few key hits, as bad as this season has been so far for him.  He ended up 2-4 with a pair of RBI's.

Braves 2, Cardinals 1

I know I'm not a major league pitcher, but honestly, when it's your job, when it's something you do every single day, how hard is it to throw strikes?  I know that you want to be careful when clinging to a 1-0 lead, but you cannot, absolutely cannot put runners on base.  Make them get a hit in order to get on base, but don't, DON'T, walk them.  This is the second game this season that can be directly attributed to walks being the primary culprit in the blown save.  McClellan has been pitching well this year (even after giving up 2 ER, his ERA is only 3.09, which is pretty good for a reliever), but he couldn't find the strike zone last night, and it cost the Cardinals a hard fought victory.

It's hard to pick a player of the game when the team only reached base 4 times and only scored 1 run; however Molina did go 2-3 with an RBI on the night, so he is the best choice.

Cardinals 5, Braves 3

Sloppy game, but they got the win.  To quote the recap article: Shortstop Brendan Ryan left the game in the fifth inning with a left hamstring injury. Adam Wainwright labored through six imprecise innings, needing 110 pitches to get 18 outs. St. Louis pitchers issued seven walks, the offense struck out 10 times and ran into an out on the bases, and the defense committed another error leading to an unearned run.  That's rough.  But a win is a win.  I guess a sloppy win makes up (in a little way) for giving away a win yesterday.

I'm going with Pujols as the player of the game.  2-4 with an RBI and a run.  The RBI was the tying run, and the run he scored is what put them ahead by 2.  There was no more scoring from either side after he came home.

Up next: Cards travel to Washington for a 3 game set with the Nationals.

Swish's Series Review, Cubs 5/24-5/26

Cardinals' record: 2-1 (4-0-1, series); 13-6 overall

Cardinals 4, Cubs 3

If the first four games of the Cubs/Cards series are any indication of what the season series is going to be like, we'll be in for a treat every time these two teams meet.  The pitching was solid on both sides, not a run came across the plate until the 5th inning.  Dempster and Wainwright combined for 13 innings, 4 earned runs (3 and 1, respectively) and 12 K's.  Wainwright was hurt by an error in the 7th inning (17th in 17 games by the Cards, yikes!), which allowed 2 unearned runs to come across, and cost him a decision in the game.  Pujols came up in the 8th to hit a soft single up the middle, steal second (3rd steal in as many games), and score on another soft single by Ludwick, which proved to be the difference in the game.

Player of the game for this one goes to Joe Thurston.  Though it was Pujols manufacturing the run in the 8th that won it, Thurston plated 2 and scored another in a 3 run 5th inning for the Cardinals.  If a guy accounts for 75% of your runs, and you win by one, I'm inclined to give him the PoG.

Cardinals 8, Cubs 2

Another great game put together by the Cards, and another series win locked down (regardless of what happens on Sunday, the Cards won this series by taking the first two)!  Boggs started this one, and faired very well, going 5 2/3rds while allowing 1 unearned run.  The Cubbies scored their second run on Boyer in the 9th, but it also was unearned.  I don't believe it's a stat category, but the Cards just racked up an earned run shut out.  I should rally to make it a category.

Pujols is easily the player of the game for this one.  Sure, he only had one hit, but that one was a monster - a 441 foot shot with the bases loaded.  Barden gets an honorable mention for his 3 hit, 2 RBI performance.

Cubs 10, Cardinals 3

As good as yesterday's game was, this one was not.  A day after handing it to the Cubs, the Cards had it handed right back to them.  Wellemeyer was not good - allowing 6 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings.  Newly acquired Boyer didn't pitch well either, allowing 2 in 2/3rds of an inning.  The Cubs, however, did find a way to neutralize Pujols, by walking him 3 times and hitting him with one pitch.  Brendan Ryan had a pinch hit double to score Thurston who walked and stole second. And the other two runs were via the long ball.

Molina is the best candidate for player of the game.  He is the only Cardinal with 2 hits, and one of those was a solo shot to lead off the second.

Up next: The Cards hit the road for three in Atlanta, beginning with what looks to be the Monday night game on ESPN.

Swish's Series Review, Mets 4/21-4/23

Cardinals record: 3-0 (3-0-1) Series; 11-5 overall

Cardinals 6, Mets 4

This is one that was a little frustrating to follow at the beginning.  It seems like the Mets scored another run each inning (mostly because they did, one in the 1st and 2nd and two in the 4th).  But the Cards battled back to tie it up with four in the fifth.  And it was handed over to the bullpens after that.  If you told me that this game would come down to the bullpen, it would have chalked it up as a Cardinal loss - after all, the Mets acquired two of the AL's top closers in the offseason; however, thanks to a misplayed lead off hit in the 8th, the Cards were able to get to Putz, and Franklin was able to notch his third save in three chances.

Player of the game for this one is Ankiel.  Ankiel hasn't been playing all that well so far this year.  In fact, he's been the worse outfielder that the Cards have thrown out there; however, he had a break-out game. He was 3-5 with 2 runs, and more importantly, the tie-breaking RBI in the 8th.  Good game overall.  I'm excited to watch the Wednesday night game on ESPN.  It'll be my first chance to see them on something other than a computer/cell phone screen this year.

Cardinals 5, Mets 2

This is the first game I was able to watch this season.  It aired on ESPN, and I probably caught about 2/3rds of it.  The Cardinals looked really good.  They got base hits when they needed them, they played solid defense, and Pineiro pitched pretty well.

I'm going to turn to Pineiro as the player of the game.  Not only did he go 8 innings and only allow 2 runs (the second of which came after he left the game with a runner on second), he also set down 13 in a row leading up to a ninth inning lead-off double.  He only walked a pair, and didn't strike out anybody.  But he also did some stuff at the plate, 1-3 with a run scored and a walk.  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but the run scored was on some really good baserunning where he slid in just under the tag.  All in all, a solid night.

Cardinals 12, Mets 8

Get out the brooms!  The Cardinals officially have their second series sweep of the season after pounding Mets pitching this afternoon, and barely escaping their own pitching getting pounded late.  And, guess what, at the time of this post, the Cardinals are tied with Toronto and Florida for the most wins in the majors right now.  (Hey, I know it's early, but you have to celebrate what you can when you can.)

Offensive star of the game was El Hombre himself.  Pujols was 3-4 on the day with a walk, 4 runs, 3 RBI's and 2 homers.  Again, at the time of this post, Pujols was leading the NL with 18 runs, 6 HR's, 21 RBI's, and 42 total bases.  Add that to his .315/.435/.611 (BA/OBP/SLG) line, and you're looking at a two-time MVP building a case for a third trophy.  Yes, I know, it's early.  Let me dream.

Up next: The Cubbies come into town for a three game set after dropping 2 of 3 to the Reds.  Should be a good series.

Swish's Series Review, Chicago (NL) 5/16-5/18, 7/12

Cardinals' record: 1-2 (Series 2-0-1), 8-5 (season)

Cardinals 7, Cubs 4

And the rivalry kicks off in what I think will be a year where these two teams battle it out atop the NL Central. Wainwright was on the mound today, and he looked like he still wanted to flirt with disaster a little, but again, managed to pull it out. Most significantly, he set down Milton Bradley (you know, the Monopoly guy...) and Alfonso Soriano with bases loaded to end his afternoon after the sixth inning. His only major mistake was giving up a 3-run bomb to Fukudome in the fifth. McClellan (7th and 8th) and Franklin (9th) put a serious hush on the Cubs fans at Wrigley by striking out 4 in the last 3 innings (2 each), and not allowing a hit or giving up a walk.

Offensive star of this game was Duncan, who has been playing great so far this year. He was 3-4 with 3 RBI's and a run scored, which included his second HR of the season. He is now hitting .389 on the young season and appears to be seeing the ball very well lately (it was his second 3 hit game in a row). Duncan has a hit in every game that he's started so far this season (10 games), and walked in his one pinch-hit appearance back on April 8th against the Pirates.

Cubs 8, Cardinals 7

I caught most of this one on our new XM radio as we were driving home from Terre Haute. First thing I hear is that Perez walked Miles, and I had a bad feeling about how the 8th was going to go. And I was right. Soriano drilled a 2 run shot just a few pitches later. The Cardinal bullpen needs to throw strikes and not let people get on base if they want to avoid a repeat of last season's debacle. That being said, the fill-in starter for the injured Carpenter went today instead of Sunday night, which is when Carp was scheduled to pitch. It was obvious that he had some early jitters, which is to be expected - matched up against your biggest rival's best pitcher on the road is a tough call for anybody to make his MLB debut. It was shaky early, but it seems like he settled down quite a bit.

What is going to be lost is a monster game by Ryan Ludwick, today's player of the game. He was 3-5 with 4 RBI's and a pair of homer's. Unfortunately, he also struck out with runners on 1st and 2nd for the first out of the 9th inning, but he shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. At worst, it should have been a tie game.

Cubs 7, Cardinals 5

Another rough game that could've easily been a Cardinal win. You have to feel a little better about this one compared to the previous game because they battled back to tie it in the 8th. However, with a 4-1 lead after 4 innings, there shouldn't have been a need to battle back. Looks like Lohse was doing well early on, but they got to him in the 5th to score 3 and tie it up.

I'm thinking that Ludwick is the best bet for player of the game. He had 2 of the 6 Cardinal hits on the day, and drove in a pair as well. Not much else to say about this one.

Cardinals, Cubs PPD

Well, this is interesting. I hadn't thought about what to do if the Cardinals had a postponed game. Technically, this series will not be completed until July 12th, as part of a doubleheader. So, officially, I cannot declare this a series loss, even though the Cardinals are down 1-2 in the series. If I'm still doing series recaps by mid-July, I'll be updating the Series record then (it'll either be a tie or a loss).

Up next: The Cards have their first day off of the season on Monday, and then welcome the Mets into town for three games beginning Tuesday. Starting Tuesday, the Cardinals have 20 games in a row before having another day off. It's going to be a rough stretch, but it's one they'll be thankful for at the end of the year.

Swish's Series Review, Arizona 5/13-5/15

Cardinals' record: 2-1 (Series 2-0-1), 7-3 (season)

Cardinals 2, Diamondbacks 1

Wellemeyer pitched a solid game, just one start after his debacle against the Pirates.  He went 7 innings and scattered 7 hits while only allowing 1 ER.  The bullpen pitched the final two innings and only allowed 2 hits.  Offensively, Pujols and Barden both homered.  Usually, in this case, I'd give the offensive standout nod to Pujols, but Barden's HR was in the 8th inning and proved to be the winning run, so he gets the nod.  Pretty quiet game overall, but a good win for the Redbirds.

Diamonbacks 7, Cardinals 6 (10 innings)

Rough night in the desert.  Carpenter was on the mound for the Cards, at least until he strained his ribcage in the 4th.  Given the injuries that he has had over the past couple of years, this is not good news.  The silver lining is that it's not a shoulder or arm injury, but it is still going to keep him out for a little while.  He was cruising right along until his at bat in the 4th, which is when he strained the muscle.  Then the bullpen came in.

The bullpen was not terrible, but they weren't great either.  With a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th, Kinney allowed a 3 run homer that put the D-backs ahead.  To their credit, the offense tied the game up in the 9th, but Thompson, in his second inning of work, gave up the winning run in the 10th.  Usually extra inning loses don't bother me all that much, but when they had the lead going into the bottom of the 8th, it does bother me a little.  They fought back, but the D-backs had too much momentum in the late innings to lose that game.  Offensive hero for this game is a toss up again.  Pujols tied the game in the 9th, which kept the Cards alive.  Molina was 1-3 with 2 RBI's and a run scored.  We'll call it a tie today.

Cardinals 12, Diamondbacks 7

Big offensive output tonight!  The difficult thing about this victory is choosing somebody who really stood out from the rest.  A few players had good games: Duncan, a homer shy of the cycle, scored twice and knocked in two; Ludwick, 2 hits, including a 2-run HR, scored twice and knocked in three; Molina, 3-3, 2 RBI's and 1 run.  I think it's going to go to Ludwick.  Why?  Because who doesn't love the long ball.

Up next: Cards travel to Wrigley in a big (well, as big as anything this early in the season can be) series against the Cubbies for a 4 game set.  I won't be surprised to see the Cards fall in this opening game simply because Phoenix is a long way from Chicago, and that 1:20 start is going to come early, but we'll see how it goes.  With Wainwright on the mound, the Cards have a good shot.

Swish's Series Review, Houston 5/10-5/12

Cardinals' record: 3-0 (Series, 1-0-1); 5-2 (season)

Cardinals 5, Astros 3

The first game of this series went pretty well for the Cards. It was a little scary at the end, but it all came out smelling like roses. Pinero pitched a solid game. Officially, he was charged with 2 runs, though the last run came in after consecutive walks by Kinney (that's right, a bases loaded walk was the second of the two, eek!). Pinero's final line 6 2/3 IP, 2 runs, 8 hits. Not a bad outing from a guy who was, well, terrible last season. It got interesting in the 9th when Motte came in for the save. It was Motte's first appearance since blowing the save (and the game) by allowing 4 runs in the 9th of Opening Day. He promptly coaxes a flyout and allows two hits, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. McClellan relieved Motte, striking out Matsui, and getting Hunter Pence to ground into a force out to end the game. It was slightly nerve-wracking, but what Cardinals' save opportunity hasn't been in the past several years?

The offensive hero in this game was definitely Ludwick. He went 2-3 with a HR and 2 RBI's. Skip also got into the fun with a 3-hit night. Pujols is starting to come back to earth a little with an 0-3 night, bringing his BA to a skimpy .412, but with a BB tonight, his free pass total is up to 5 after 5 games. One way or another, the guy's going to get on base.

Cardinals 11, Astros 2

If you had told me prior to this game that Wainwright would throw 100+ pitches and only go 5 innings, that LaRue would pinch hit for Pujols and be followed to the plate by reliever Brad Thompson, that the Cards wouldn't get a hit until the third inning, and that the Astros would have seven baserunners in that same timeframe and then told me that the final score was 11-2. I would have been ticked off that the Cardinals played so bad. However, I would be wrong.

All of those things indeed did happen in this Saturday afternoon match-up, pitting Adam Wainwright against Roy Oswalt; however, the outcome was quite the opposite. Wainwright was shaky for most of the game, but was able to get outs when needed. He only pitched 5 innings, and allowed 4 hits and 3 BB's, but Wainwright walked away this afternoon with a win. A couple late, meaningless runs were scored by the Astros, but the game was long out of their hands by the time they broke up the shut out. Motte came in and pitched a solid 6th inning, allowing a single and striking out two.

The obvious offensive hero in this game was Pujols (yes, the same Pujols that LaRue pinch hit for). With the bases loaded in the 5th and a 2-0 lead, Pujols came out gave every one in Big Mac Land a free Big Mac by absolutely crushing the first pitch into the left field seating area. In his next at-bat, he did something less majestic - a three-run homer. All in all, Pujols had a 2-4 day with 2 HR's and 7 RBI's, not bad.

Cardinals 3, Astros 0

Wow. Lohse was amazing in this game. After allowing a lead-off single at the beginning of the game, he set down 24 straight batters. He ended up pitching a complete game, and allowing only 3 hits in the process. Simply amazing.

It's hard to really pick out an offensive hero in this one, so it's going to Khalil Greene who went 3-4 on the day while scoring 1 run and knocking in another. Solid series by the Cardinals. Solid.

Up next: Cardinals travel to Arizona for a 3 game set, Monday through Wednesday.

Swish's Series Review - Pittsburgh, 5/6-5/9

I think this is a new feature that I may post near the end of each series that the Cardinals play this season.  We'll see how it goes.

Here's how this is going to work.  At the top, you'll see the record for the particular series that the Cardinals are playing; how they have faired in each series this season; and their total record for the season.  If the Cards win a majority of their individual two, three or four game series, they should have a pretty good season.

Cardinals' record: 2-2 (Series, 0-0-1);  2-2 (season)

Pirates 6, Cardinals 4

Not a good way to start the season.  One strike away from a 4-2 victory, and a Motte fastball gets turned around for a bases clearing double.  Ludwick had a big homer to break a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 8th, and Pujols was 3-4 on the day.  Wainwright didn't help himself by issuing 5 free passes; hopefully, he's sharper the next time out.

Cardinals 9, Pirates 3

And the first win is under their belt.   Duncan, Pujols and Molina all homered for the Cards, who look like they have 7 people that could legitimately hit 20 homers this season, assuming health and playing time (4 of those are sharing time in the outfield).  Molina triples and homers in his first two AB's.  Five guys have two-hit days: Rasmus, Pujols, Greene, Molina and Thurston.  I know it's only two games into the season, but Pujols' is currently hitting .714.  That's his batting average, not slugging percentage.  He's 5-7 on the season with 3 walks after two games.  I'm calling it now: Pujols is the 2009 MVP.  Let's also not forget to give Lohse his due as well - 7IP, 3 R (only 2 were earned), 5 H, and 4 K's.  If the starters can pull that out of their hat three days out of four, this will be a great season.

Pirates 7, Cardinals 4

I think the phrase that best summarizes this game: play with fire and you're going to get burned.  I didn't catch the early part of the game, but from the looks of things Wellemeyer got burned... a lot.  His line: 5 IP, 12 H, 5 R (all earned).  That's rough.  That's leaving a lot of pitches in places where people could just pound them.  Thompson also gave up a 2-run HR, but all in all, the bullpen seemed to be pretty solid.  The bottom of the ninth was marred with the cliches that baseball is about not making mistakes and it is a game of inches.  Freese doubled; Thurston doubled and was thrown out trying to stretch it; Duncan walked; Rasmus crushed a couple of balls foul before getting robbed of an extra base hit by McLouth; and Greene hit a liner that was snagged by Vazquez at third.  Thurston doesn't make that mental error, and he scores on Rasmus' fly out and Pujols is batting in a 7-5 game with a runner on 1st.  Rough game filled with a lot of "what ifs".

Cardinals 2, Pirates 1

One of the most anticipated starts of this early season definitely took place in this game.  After missing the majority of the past two seasons with injuries, Cardinal fans were eager to see what Chris Carpenter would do today, and they weren't disappointed.  Carp held the Pirates hitless until the 7th inning when former Indianapolis Indian Nyger Morgan got a base hit - the only hit of the game for the Pirates.  They did manage to get a run in without getting a hit, which is always an interesting feat.  A walk, fielder's choice/error, and another fielder's choice is what brought the run around for the Pirates.  Carp's final line: 7IP, 1 H, 1 R (unearned), 7 K's and 2 BB's.  Solid.

The Cards managed just 8 hits, but they pulled together 4 of those in the 7th inning, which proved to be the difference when 2 runs came home that inning.  It had the potential to a huge inning, when the Cards had bases loaded with no outs and the top of the order coming up.  Freese lined out to left, and Molina was thrown out at home on Rasmus' flyout to end the inning.  Reyes came in and shut the Pirates down, but not before Craig Monroe gave the fans a major scare by hitting one deep to center field.

Overall

The Cards had a tough series against a decent Pirates team.  The two losses had some glaring issues that could have easily turned them around to W's, but we can't dwell on them too much.  Motte had a case of the rookie jitters and cost the first game; Wellemeyer couldn't do anything right in the third game, but they still had an outside chance in the 9th.  However, Lohse and Carpenter put together gems, and all in all, the bullpen pitched fairly well (I believe they only allowed 6 runs total, and 4 of those came at Motte's expense in the first game).  I certainly would have liked to see them take 3 out of 4, but a split is better than losing the series altogether.

Next up: The always dangerous Houston Astros come to town for a three game set Friday through Sunday.

Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4 (0-1)

And so it begins...  

With the Cardinals leading 4-2 going into the ninth inning, Freddy Sanchez doubles.  A strikeout and a groundout later, Sanchez is standing on third with two outs, and that's when it got interesting.  Adam LaRoche hit a sharp single to right, scoring Sanchez.  Hinske hits for Adam's brother, Andy, bringing LaRoche to third and standing on second.  Motte hits the #7 hitter to load the bases bringing up Jack Wilson.  Wilson promptly gets down 0-2 and it looks like the Cards are going to get out of it... until he rockets one into left center, clearing the bases.  All I can think is, here we go again.  Going into the bottom of the 9th, it's Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4.

It looks promising for the Cards in the 9th, with Ankiel, Pujols, Greene and Ludwick scheduled to hit.  Ankiel gets the count full and grounds out to second.  Pujols gets his third hit of the day with a grounder to left bringing up the Cards biggest offseason acquisition, Khalil Greene.  Greene manages a fly ball to center field for out #2.  The last hope is the breakout player from last season, who has already homered to break a 2-2 tie in the 8th, Ryan Ludwick.  Ludwick goes down swinging to end the game.  Final score - Pittsburgh 6, St. Louis 4.  Not a good way to start the season.

I'm not going all "doom-and-gloom" here, but it is frustrating to see them give away a game to begin the season.  Kudos to the Pirates for coming through in the clutch, but it shouldn't have happened.  I'm not ready to push the panic button on the bullpen because, quite frankly, they were fantastic until Motte needed that last out.  Prior to the 2-out, 9th inning implosion, the bullpen had pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing only 4 hits while striking out 4 and not allowing a run.

It's a tough first game, but the season isn't defined in just one game - that's the joy of baseball.